I know all about relaxation. I do it everyday.

The sixty-some mile an hour winds in a cold-dark house were too much for me! I would drift into that delicious state just before sleep and BOOM, something hard would hit something equally stubborn and my body would jolt, without moving, from that point just before sleep.

Oh good, I would note, the huge trees around the house are still standing. And then I would drift again and almost be asleep and CRACK, I would hear a branch fall and note to myself, thank you, we are still safe. And so it went, until I finally fell asleep.

When I assessed the neighborhood in the morning I had good reason to be nervous. An entire tree fell and was blocking the street just above our house. A neighbor up the hill lost an entire roof.

After two days of listening to a battery operated radio and repeatedly walking up the street to find that one elusive sweet spot, in the whole neighborhood, where the cell phones work, we are now hooked back into all of the of conveniences of electricity.

We have heat, all of the phones work, and I am online again. Yes!!!!! Now, I can get back to work!!!

The Seattle storm of 2006 is now a memory in my house and I am so thankful as the temperature has dropped to 32 degrees tonight. There are still many households without power. I wish them all a speedy return to the world of lights and heat.